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CORNELL’S JEWELERS: IT’S ABOUT THE RIGHT PIECE FOR THE RIGHT CUSTOMER, REGARDLESS OF PRICE | August 29, 2012 (3 comments)
Rochester, NY--Cornell’s Jewelers offers customers bridal, diamond fashion and affordable chic jewelry in a spacious retail setting. For the staff at Cornell’s Jewelers, it’s about finding the right piece for the right customer, regardless of price. The Centurion spoke with Olivia Cornell, Cornell’s Jeweler’s president. Cornell, along with her husband, second-generation jeweler David (Cornell’s CEO), leads the team today at Cornell’s Jewelers.
When Olivia met David in 1991 on a blind date, she knew nothing about the jewelry business. “I didn’t grow up in this industry,” said Cornell. “I owned one herringbone chain, and one or two pairs of earrings. I thought ‘I need some jewelry!’” Cornell had been in retail and was especially savvy at recognizing collections that would sell, a skill that would serve her well in her upcoming jewelry days. “I was always looking for new collections. I loved the energy, loved buying for retail, seeing the right collections and working with the vendors.”
“Actually,” she said with a laugh, “Retail is perfect for the ADD person!”
The two married and Cornell began working full time with her husband in 1997. The two began making changes and expanding the business. “My husband’s father started the business in 1923, predominately in downtown. He sold wholesale and retail in a walkup, and used very little advertising,” said Cornell of the store’s history. “Downtown was slowly dying and people didn’t want to drive there, so David started looking for a building.” He found one: an office building that needed major renovation. The couple gutted the building and began remodeling. They changed the business, cutting out the wholesale business, adding designer lines and redoing the logo and signage. During two years of construction, they were only closed one day! They changed the name from Cornell’s Diamond Importers to Cornell’s Jewelers and began reaching out to new clientele.
Three generations of Cornell's. From left to right: Olivia, Harry, David and Michael Cornell. Founder Harry Cornell, seated, passed away in 2011 at 104 years of age. He worked through his mid 80s.
Today, the 2010 Second Coolest Store in America (by InStore magazine), offers a wide variety of jewelry to its customers. “We have three main areas,” said Cornell. “Bridal, diamond fashion, and affordable chic.” The bridal department has a good amount of space allotted, with four individual desks where the sales staff can talk with the customers before sitting down at the showcases. “It’s nice and intimate, with incredible lighting,” says Cornell. “Our diamond fashion and affordable chic area houses items under $1,000 but predominately under $500. We’re in a growing area, attracting a younger client.”
Top to bottom: The entryway into Cornell's, another inside view of the showroom and the outside of Cornell’s location, a former office building.
Cornell says the store is a destination location. “If you pull into our store, you’re pulling into Cornell’s Jewelers, that’s the only agenda,” she said. “We’re a destination building. It’s our challenge to make sure you’re not intimidated when you pull into the store.” The affordable chic area helps to reduce the intimidation factor, according to Cornell.
Cornell’s customers vary across the board, but “lots are women self-purchasers,” said Cornell. “For our inventory for these customers, we try and look for things that are unique. One of our old taglines is ‘unique like you.’ We strive to find the right jewelry for the right person regardless of price. One of our popular lines is made in Kenya, horn bracelets that provide education and support for the women there.”
Advertising and marketing to the Cornell’s customer takes a variety of paths. “We have some great billboards in the Rochester airport,” says Cornell (photo at the airport’s security exit below). “We combine that with radio ads, local magazine ads, direct mail and lots of events,” plus the store’s website and Facebook page, which is updated weekly.
Welcome to Rochester! Arrivals at the airport have no doubt where to shop for jewelry.
Cornell says one of her most successful events is a ‘girls’ night out’ event that is held during a local fashion week. “Three days of fashion and fashion shows begin on a Thursday,” said Cornell. “There’s a boutique crawl and our girls’ night out. It’s not really an event that makes much money; it’s more of an event that establishes a relationship.” Cornell’s even offers its own martini during the night out, made with San Germain liqueur and champagne, called the ‘Cornell-tini.’ Cornell’s offers events every other month, on average.
A staff of 20 keep Cornell’s running and their customers happy. The shop offers in-house design and repairs, and the store keeps a small marketing staff busy as well. One holdover from the wholesale days is the ‘mantrap’ that keeps visitors in place as they are buzzed in from the foyer through to the sales floor. “We see everything a bit differently because of our history downtown,” says Cornell.
Cornell and her husband divvy up responsibilities at the store. Cornell acts as president and her husband as CEO. “We used to overlap a lot,” says Cornell of their roles in the business. “We are getting better at working separately. David is predominately responsible for diamond buying, watches and any manufacturing. I oversee the advertising and finished goods buying. Michael (David’s son) runs the sales floor, does bridal buying and works with Cornell. The three try to meet once a week to have a management meeting that includes two other staff members to keep everything on track. “Communication is key,” she says. “David is very entrepreneurial and has an incredible eye for diamonds.”
Over the last year, their roles again blurred a bit, by necessity. “Last October, David was hit by a car. The past year has been challenging,” says Cornell. David, who suffered a number of injuries, is not back to work full-time yet, so the relationship between Cornell and her stepson Michael has changed. “It’s brought us closer together. He’s really stepped up,” she says. Another source of support has been her husband’s executive coaching and peer advisory group, Vistage. “When David stepped down a bit, I became a member of the group.”
Cornell feels fortunate to have Michael around. “He’s such a great young man; we’re so blessed to have him,” she says. The couple wanted initially to make sure he would be the right fit for the business as well as his own career. “Retail is not easy, nor is working for the family business,” says Cornell. “We took him out to Carlsbad, to GIA, to study on campus. While he and I were out shopping, David went by the registrar to see how many credits he needed to finish his studies. Turns out, it was just a few and could be easily completed in a course starting the next Monday for a few weeks.” So, father and son attended GIA together, working on opposite schedules and sharing lab equipment. David finished his Graduate Gemologist degree shortly and Michael graduated a few months later. He went on to work at ViewPoint showroom in New York for a few years before coming to work at Cornell’s full time.
Despite the challenges at home and at work, Cornell is still having a good year. She recently was awarded a WJA Award for Excellence in Retail. “That award knocked my socks off,” Cornell said. “I rarely think of [doing what I do] as working. I love what I do. There are times when I’m tired and exhausted but I get up every morning, I still love what I do. I think it shows.”
From left, at the WJA Awards for Excellence Dinner: Michael Cornell, sales manager and bridal buyer, with his wife Courtney; Olivia, president, with husband and CEO David.